Strap brush for bathing



Oct. 28, 1952 Oct. 28, 1952 w. NovcK 2,615,189

STRAP BRUSH FOR BATHING Filed July 16, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 57 x x wINVENTOR. WILLIAM NOVICK Patented. Oct. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES eArENTorrce STRAP BRUSH FOR BATHING William Novick, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application J uly 16, 1949, Scrial No. 106,153

claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a combinatonbrush and soap holder of the type forming the subject matter of myearlier U. S. Patents Nos. 2,333,436, 2,408,676 and 2,441,898 and U. S.Application Serial No. 41,501 filed July 30, 1948.

The articles forming the subject matter of those prior patents andapplications are characterized by a brush mounted on a long straplikehandle intermediate the ends thereof to facilitate the use of the brushto wash the back and other relatively inaccessble parts of the body;

The brush, in each of the prior patents or applications, features a backhaving a Central Opening closed by a pivotally or removably mounted doorwith bristles fixedly mounted on the back about the Opening. Mounted onthe back concentric with the central Opening there is a soap containerinto which a. cake of soap can be .placed through the central openingwhen the door is pivoted to an open' position and means' is included onthe door for pressing the inserted cake of soap away therefrom and toextend the soap container to an operative position with relation to theends of the brush bristles.

The combination brush and soap holder of the present invention isgenerally similar to those of the prior patents and applications,differing therefrom in the manner of forming the soap container intowhich the piece of soap is to be placed.

Another object of the present invention proposes forming the pairs ofbrush bristles on diametrically opposite sides of the Central openingwith integral intermediate portions extended across the Central Openingin a novel manner to form the soap Container.

The invention further proposes a novel means for securing theintermediate portions of the pairs of brush bristles in position on theback of the brush in a manner to maintain the position of the soapContainer fixed with relation to the brush bristles of the brush.

It is also proposed to form the pairs of brush bristles which form thesoap Container in different Ways so that their intermediate portionswill be either multi-stranded or single-stranded with brush bristles atthe ends the'eof.

Another Object of the present invention proposes the provision of anovel wall bracket which is to be mounted on the wall of a bathroom orthe like over a bathtub or other similar receptacle so that the brushmay be rested thereon following use to have the accumulated waterconveniently drain therefrom.

As a further object, the present invention proposes removably mountingthe long strap-like handle upon the brush so that it can be removed andreplaced by a shorter hand strap when desired. l

It is afurther Object of the present invention to construct acombination brush and soap holder which is simple and durable and whichcan be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set iorth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:A

Fig. 1 is a Perspective view of the combination brush and soap holderconstructed in accordance with the present invention and being used toscrub ones back. f

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the combination brush and soapholder resting onits supporting wall bracket.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2, but with the long strap-like handleremoved.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view of thecombination brush and soap holder, per se.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged central transverse vertical sectional view of theeombination brush and soap holder, but with portions thereof brokenaway.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a portion of th combination brushandsoap holder in the proces of being assembled.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the member for holding the cover in aclosed position.

Fig. 8 is a side elevational View `of the combination brush and soapholder with' the small hand strap substituted for the longer strap-likehandle. i p

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the small hand 'strap, per se. p

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the wall bracket, per se.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the bristle membersused to form the soap Container of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a view Similar to Fig. 11, but illustrating a modification ofthe bristle member used to form the soap Container.

The combination brush and soap holder, accordin to the form of theinvention illustrated in Fgs. 1 to 11, includes a brush 28 having acontainer 2| for a cake of soap 22 and mounted on the intermediateportion of a long strap-like handle 23 to be used for scrubbing one'sback, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The brush 20 has a rigid back 24 preferably formed of a transparentresinous plastic material; such as "Lucite" (an acrylate or methylmethacrylate resin). The rigid back 24 has a fiat central portion 24 andend portions 24 which are sloped downward and outward from the centralportion. The fiat central portion 24 is in the form of a frame having acentral opening 2-5.

Fixedly mounted on the bottom face of the back 24 there is a pluralityof brush bristles -26 arranged in separate tufts molded into the back 24as is generally known to those skilled inthe art to which the presentinvention pertains. The bristles 26 can be formed of natural hair butare preferably forrned of a synthetic materia1;-"such as* "Nylonfl(apolymeric amide with a protein-like chemcal structure).

The strap-like handle'23 is formed of'anydesired'flexible water-proofmaterial and has an intermediate .portion which is slightlv enla'rgedandextended 'across'the central portion' 24 of the back 24. utwar'dlyof' the enlarged intermediate portion, the". handle 4 23 has fixedlymounted thereon snap fastenerelements 21' engageable' with.complementary snap .fastener' elements 28`mo1ded into the back 24'for'reieasably connecting the handle 23 to: theibrush' The* endsofthe handle23 are' formedwith pairsof slits 28', see Figs. land 2,'into whichone's'fingers.

may. be engaged, ,as clearly shoWn in'Fig'..1,' for manipulating thebrush.

There is also provided a shorter hand strap 29, seesFi'gsrs and.,9,formed of the samevmaterial used. toorm thehandle 23. The-shorter handstrap 29 is provided at its ends with snap fastener elements 30,.Similar to the snap. fastener 'elements ztiwhich are to -be engagedwith.the:snap fastener elements 28, when the hand1ej 23` is.disconnected.from the brush 20; `for-connecting .the

shorter hand strap-29` tolthe brush. When the.

shorter-\hand strap..29` s connected tothe brush 2o -it -may.-bedirectly grippednpermitting the brush to be used for washing theaccessible parts of :the body. If. desired, the back 24 of the brush zumay -be grippedwith the hand strap, 29.'extendedacross the back of. thehand.

The container 21 for the cake of soap 22 is for-med` of *elongatedbristlemembers 34 .having intermediate portions 34 and bristleportions34 which surround the central Opening 25, in the rigid back-24.Thoseintermediate portionsh34 are extended` across thebottom of the cakeof soap 22 and* interlaced, asshownin Figs.` 4 toi 6. The ends oftheinter mediate portions then ,extend upward along. the sides of thecake of soap 22.

Alongdiametrically opposite sides of the opening 25, the rigid back 24is formed with aligned pairsof holes38, *see Figs. 4 to 6, whichcontinue at their top ends into concentric reduced holes 31. The top,ends of the reduced holes 31'. are connected by a groove 38 formedinthe top face of the rigid back `24 completely about the opening 25.

.After the intermediate portions 34 ofrthe bristle' members 34 have beeninterlaced and passedupward along the sides of the cake of soapf.22*,.the bristle portions 34 are passed through a,.loop 'of 'a length ofsynthetic resinous plastic yarn 39, as shown inFig. 6. The length ofyarn 39 is extended from one reduced hole 31 to the next along thegroove 38 and at each hole 31 is doubled upon itself and passed downwardthrough the holes 36 and 31 to have the end portion of the respectivebristle member 34 passed through the loop and properly adjusted withrelation thereto to form the respective portion of the container 2| andthe bristle portion 34 The free end of the length of yarn 39 is thenpulled to draw the bristle member 34 upward into the enlarged hole 38until the bristle member strikes the top of th hole 36. The next bristlemember is drawn into position in the same way until the entire.Container 2! is completed. The ends of the length of yarn 39 will thenbe adjacent one another and can be tied or secured together in .anyptherknown manner for securely anchoring the bristle members 34 in positionwith relation to the rigid back 24. If desired, the tops of the groove38 could be sealed by pouring in molten resinousplastic-materialuof thesame type used for forming the back24.

The centraiopening 25 permits-.the cake-of soap '22 -to be passed.through the rigidback 24 and into. the soap container. 2l, as .shown inFigs. 4 and 5.' Thecentralaopening 25.'is 'closed by a-cover `451preferably formed' of the same material as the rigid back. 24.' Asclearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, thebottom -face of the cover. 40rests-on-the top face of theback 24 about the Central-Opening- 25.` Thecover* 40 .comprisesa bottom portion-40 and a narrower top portion 40and it is preferred that-the cover be formed oa:=thermop1asticaresinousmaterial so that .the portions 4:! and-41) can be secured-together toform-an integralunit thereof by 'the application of-- heat and pressure;The cover 40 is formed with spacedholes 4 along the length-thereof forthecirculation of water throughthe Container 2 l. Secured to the topfaceof orintegrally formed with *the rigid back- 24* -there are blocks- 42,see especially Fig; 3, arranged in end alignmentwith the -topportion' 40of the cover* 40. Oneend of the-top portion-4fl is formed with spacedlug portions 43 which receive between them a complementary lug portion44 formed on the adjacent block portion 42. A pin 45 is passedthroughthe -in-terengaged-lug portions 43 and '44 to pivotally secure the cover4u' inposition.

At its other end,- the top 'portion' 4 of` the cover 40 is provided witha means for holding the -coverin a closed position. The-ho1ding meanscomprises a shank-46 rotatively extended through the topportion- 48 andformed at its bottom-end' 'with a circular latch disc 41 disposed'within a complenentary recess formed-in the bottom face of the topportion 40, as shown in'F-ig. 5. V The disc 41 is engageablewith acomplementary keeper groove- 48.' The latch 41 has a fiat side M whichis arranged to be aligned with the-keeper groove 48 in the turnedposition of the latchdisc 41, to free the cover to be pivoted to an openposition. The--shank 46 is formed with a fiat side-46 alignedwiththeflat side 41 of-the dis'c 41,- asclearly shown in' Fig.- 7, tociearly indicate the positionof the fiat side' 41 within therecess-thathouses the :circular disc 41.

A-resi1ient -means is mounted onthe cover 40 for holding -the cake ofsoap -22 againstthebottomof--the container-2| and to hold thecontainerproperly extended. with relation to the rigid back 24.

Thatresilient means is characterized by a cylinder 49 of a fiexiblesynthetic resinous plastic material which has one side fixedly securedto the bottom face of the cover a by several screws 50. The side of thecylinder 49 opposite the side secured in position by the screws 53,bears against th top face of the cake of soap 22. The cylinder 49 isnormally in the shape of a perfect circle and is compressed to thesubstantial oval shape shown in Fig. 5, when the cover M! is closed andlocked closed. As the cake of soap 22 becomes smaller in use, thecylinder 29 will reassume its circular shape and continue to press. thecake of soap 22 against the bottom of the container 2! and fully extendthe container with relation to the brush back 2 l.

A wall bracket 5! is provided which is to be attached to a wall 52 overa bathtub or other receptacle, not shown, to support the brush ::il sothat all water may drain therefrom. The wall bracket 5! is preferablyformed of the same material used to form the rigid back M of the brushand includes a back portion 53 formed with spaced bayonet slots 54.Screws 55, see Fig. 3, threaded into the wall 52 are arranged to havetheir heads passed through the bayonet slots 54 for supporting the wallbraeket 5! upon the wall 52. The ends of the back portion 53 of the wallbracket 5! continue into forwardly extending arm portions 53 formed intheir top edges with aligned cutouts 51, see especially Fig. 10.

The ends of the rigid back 24 of the brush 23 project slightly beyondthe endmost bristles 25 and are adapted to be rested in the cutouts E'with the bristles 26 projected downward between the adjacent faces ofthe forwardly extending arm portions 55, as shown in Fig. 2. The ends ofthe strap-like handle 23 depending freely along the outer faces of theforwardly extending arm portions 56. In this position, all accumulatedwater in the bristles of the brush and in the soap container 2l willconveniently drain therefrom and drop into the bathtub or otherreceptacle over which the bracket 5| is mounted and the brush 20 and thesoap container 2! will conveniently dry.

In Fig. 12 there is illustrated a portion of a modified bristle memberat' which can be substituted for the bristle member i* used in the formof the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 11. That modified bristle member34' is formed of a resinous thermoplastic material and has a solidintermediate portion :M which continues at its ends into a plurality ofseparate strands forming bristle portions 35 The bristle member 34'could be fcrmed of a plurality of separate strands with the applicationof heat and pressure to the center thereof to fuse the strands at thecenter to form the solid intermediate portion 34 In other respects themodified form of the invention shown in Fig. 12 is the same as thatllustrated in Figs. 1 to 11.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred emb-odiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A Combined brush and soap holder comprising a rigid brush back formedwith a central Opening, bristles fixedly mounted on the bottom face ofsaid brush back about said central Opening, a soap container supportedfrom said back concentric with said central Opening to receive a. cakeof soap passed through said central Opening, and a pivotally mountedcover for closing said Opening and including a resilient member bearingagainst the cake of soap in said container for holding the cake of soapagainst the bottom of said container and said container extended, saidback being formed about said central Opening with enlarged holesextended upward from the bottom face thereof, said soap container beingformed of a plurality of elongated bristle members having theirintermediate portions extended along the bottom face of the cake of soapupward along the sides thereof and into aligned holes on diametricallyopposite sides of said central Opening, said intermediate portionshaving their free ends extended down and out of said holes formingbristle portions.

2. A combined brush and soap holder comprising a rigid brush back formedwith a central Opening, bristles fixedly mounted on the bottom face ofsaid brush back about said central opening, a soap container supportedfrom said back concentric with said central Opening to receive a cake ofsoap passed through said central opening, and a pivotally mounted coverfor closing said Opening and including a resilient member bearingagainst the cake of soap in said container for holding the cake of soapagainst the bottom of said container and said container extended, saidback being formed about said central opening with enlarged holesextended upward from the bottom face thereof, said soap container beingformed of a plurality of elongated bristle members having theirintermediate portions eX- tended along the bottom face of the cake ofsoap upward along the sides thereof and into aligned holes ondiametrically opposite sides of said central Opening, said intermediateportions having their free ends extended down and out of said holesforning bristle portions, and means for fixedly anchoring said bristlemember in said holes.

3. A Combined brush and soap holder comprising a rigid brush back formedwith a central Opening, bristles fixedly mounted on the bottom face ofsaid brush back about said central opening, a soap container supportedfrom said back concentric with said central Opening to receive a cake ofsoap passed through said central Opening, and a pivotally mounted coverfor closing said opening and including a resilient member bearingagainst the cake of soap in said container for holding the cake of soapagainst the bottom of said container and said container extended, saidback being formed about said central opening with enlarged holesextended upward from the bottom face thereof, said soap container beingformed of a plurality of elongated bristle members having theirintermediate portions extended along the bottom face of the cake of soapupward along the sides thereof and into aligned holes on diametricallyopposite sides of said central opening, said intermediate portionshaving their free ends extended down and out of said holes formingbristle portions, said elongated bristle members being formed of aplurality of strands of resinous plastic material.

4. A combined brush and soap holder comprising a rigid brush back formedwith a central Opening, bristies fixedly mounted on the bottom face ofsaid brush back about said central opening, a soap container supportedfrom said back concentric with said central Opening to receive a cake ofsoap passed through said central open- 7 ing and a pivotally mountedcover for Closing said Opening and including a resiIient member bearingagainst the cake of soap in said container for holding the cake of soapagainst the bottom of said Container and said container extended, saidback being formed about said Central opening with enlarged holesextended upward from the bottom face thereof, said soap container beingformed of a plurality of elongated bristle members having theirintermediate portions extended along thebottom face of the cake of soapupward along the sides thereof and into aligned holes on diametricallyopposite sides of said centralopening, said intermediate portions havingtheir free ends, extended, down and out of said holes forming bristleportions, said elongated bristle members being formed `of a plurality ofstrands of resinous plastic material, said strands having theircenterportions fused together forming solid intermediate portions.

5.r A, combined brush and soap holder as defined in claim 1 wherein thebrush back has means on its outer surface for attachment of a flexiblehandle Whereby the holder may be manipulated over the body of thewearer.

WILLIAM NOVICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 586,305 Creque et al. July 13,1897 1,587,753 Bretsnyder June 8, 1926 1,600,368 Skoglund Sept. 21, 19261,661,537 Knapp Mar. 6, 1928 1,741,962 Theodoropulos Dec. 31, 19291,933,291 Wolff Oct. 31, 1933 2,333,436 Novick Nov. 2, 1943 2,408,676Novick Oct. 1, 1946 2,441,898 Novick May 18, 1948

